Mute for stringed musical instruments



Oct. 16, 1945. R, B. KINGMAN 2,386,399

MUTE FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed April 17, 1944 IN VENTOR,

ATTOIQNEY.

Patented Oct. 16, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUTE FOR STRINGED lvIUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 12 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved means for muting strmged musical instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, bass-viols and the like.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel mute adapted to be mounted, between the string supporting bridge and the tail-piece of the instrument, on and between certain of the instrument strings, so as to be slidably carried thereby subject to quick, easy and noiseless manipulation, whereby it may be moved, at will, into and out of muting engagement with said bridge, and so as to be readily available for use by the performer at all times during the playing of the instrument; thus eliminating the annoying operations, incident to use of detachable mutes, of finding, attaching, removing and repocketing the mute in the midst of critical musical passages, while also avoiding noise of attaching and detaching the same.

The invention has for another object to provide a novel mute body having grooved or channeled sides to receive and slidably engage a pair of laterally spaced instrument strings by which it is carried, the grooves or channels having compound curvilinear contours in both horizontal and vertical planes, whereby the mute body is firmly gripped and supported by the strings against loose play crosswise or in horizontal plane as well as against loose play up and down or in vertical plane, and consequently eliminating all tendency to buzzing, rattling or discordant noisy vibration, especially when the mute body is retracted on the strings and thus withdrawn from muting engagement with the instrument bridge; the curvilinear shapes of said grooves or channels being so formed that but slight tensional pressure and spread is exerted upon the supporting strings, and consequently no tendency to disturb or cause fluctuations of string pitch occurs in either the bridge engaged or disengaged position of the mute body, nor is undue wear of the strings effected.

The invention has for a further Object to provide a mute body characterized as above stated, having a novel bridge engaging means adapted to ride onto the bridge top, said latter means being preferably provided with a somewhat resilient or relatively soft bridge contacting cushion portion adapted to firmly bear upon the bridge top with vibration dampening or tone softening and muting effect; said bridge engaging means being of such mass as to introduce, by virtue of its weight and gravitation toward the bridge when engaged therewith, inertia eiTects which add greatly to the muting efficiency of the mute in dampening the transmission of string vibrations through the bridge to the instrument sound post.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

Illustrative embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective view of a stringed musical instrument equipped with the novel mute according to this invention, said mute being shown withdrawn from the string supporting bridge to non-muting position, and Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the mute engaged with the string supporting bridge in muting position.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the mute as carried by the instrument strings and disposed in non-muting relation to the string bridge, said view being drawn on an enlarged scale; and Fig. i is a similar View with the mute disposed in muting relation to the string bridge.

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the mute; Fig. 6 is an end View of the mute looking toward the bridge engaging means thereof; and Fig. 7 is a central longitudinal vertical sectional view of the mute all said views being drawn on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary View, similar to that of Fig. 4, but showing a modified form of the mute construction.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view of another modified form of the mute construction, drawn on a somewhat reduced scale.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

In stringed musical instruments of the violin type, the strings H are anchored to the instrument tail-piece 12 to pass thence over the string supporting bridge l3, and thence over the finger board M to the neck of the instrument lIlOt shown), all as is well-known. The mute embodying the instant invention is adapted to be mounted on and between a middle pair of strings H, so as to be slidably supported thereby upon the parts thereof extending between the tail-piece l2 and the string supporting bridge l3.

In one simple form thereof, shown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, the novel mute according to this invention comprises a main body [5 of suitable length, width and thickness, which may be made of rigid material, such as metal, plastic material, hard wood or the like. Formed in the opposite longitudinal side portions of said main body l5 are longitudinally extending, endwise open,

' string receiving grooves or channels (see Fig. 7)

Each said groove or channel is, as to its intermediate portion, of upwardly bowed curvilinear conformation in vertical plane, whereby its lower wall surface It is convex in longitudinal extent, with its forward and rear end portions converging upon the plane of the bottom face of said main body l5, and whereby its opposing upper wall surface I! is, as to the intermediate portio thereof, concave in longitudinal extent, As it approaches the'rear end of said main body l5,

assess?) the rearward end portion l8 of said upper wall 7 l! is substantially reversely curved so as to diverge from the normal concave plane of said upper wall, whereby to converge upon the plane of the top face of said main body 15. As it approaches the forward end of said main body [5, the forward end portion IQ of said upper wall I! also diverges somewhat from the normal concave plane of said upper wall. By reason of such lower and upper wall contours, the grooves or channels, when embracing strings ll engaged therein, bear substantially upon the upper sides of thelatter at two longitudinally spaced points 1) and 1) (see Fig. 4) and upon the underside thereof at a point p" (see Fig. l) intermediate said two points in and 10, thereby slightly tensionally curving the strings in vertical plane, whereby to frictionally grip the mute body l5 so as to support the same subject to manipulated sliding movement upon said strings, and 'yet so as to firmly hold the same against'loose'play or movement-in vertical planerelative to the strings. Furthermore, the described relative contours of the end portions of the groove or channel walls provide'said grooves or channels with divergent mouth ends m and m (see Fig. 4) which permit a limited amount of endwise tipping of the mute body, when the mute is moved into contacting engagement with the instrument bridge l3, without unduly stressing the strings or effecting any sucheXcessive tension thereof as to disturb or cause undesired fluctuation of string pitch. In addition to the described curvilinear form of the grooves or channels in vertical plane, the bottom or inner walls of the grooves or channels are of outwardly bowed curvilinear form in horizontal plane, as indicated at 20 in Fig. 5, whereby, when embracing the strings H engaged therein, said longitudinally curved bottom walls slightly tensionally spread and curve the strings also in horizontal plane, so as "to firmly hold theimute body l5 against loose play or movement in horizontal plane or crosswise relative to said strings.

Connected with and across'the forward end of said main body !5, and so as to project forwardly therefrom above and beyond the forward mouth ends of the string receiving grooves 01' channels thereof, is a bridge engaging head or tongue 2!, the same having an enlarged, relatively weighty top portion 22 projecting approximately perpendicularly above the top plane of said main body E5. The underside of said head or tongue is shapedto provide a bottom face 23 of inclined posed substantially flush with the inclined bottom face 23 of said head or tongue.

The central portion of the main body !5 is formed with a central opening 26, whereby to substantially reduce the weight thereof so that its forward end, with the added weight of the enlarged head or tongue portion, provides, with respect to the mute as a whole, the point of maximum specific gravity, and permits the mass of the head or tongue, when the latter is in muting engagement with the bridge [3, to involve inertia effects which greatly enhance the dampening of string vibrations transmitted to the bridge and thence to the instrument sound post. The size of the weight reducing opening 26 in relation to the size and mass of the enlarged head or tongue portion may be predetermined and varied so as to most efficiently adapt the mute to violin type instruments of various sizes.

To apply the mute device, one of the supporting strings is engaged in a groove or channel at one side of the body l5, and then the opposite string is loosened or spread and the body 25 is aligned between the strings, and the latter string thereupon entered in the groove or channel at the opposite side of the body l5, whereby to suspend the mute slidably between said strings, whereafter the instrument may be tuned.

To dispose the mute in non-muting position, the body 15 is slid rearwardly on the supporting strings away from the bridge i3 and toward the tail-piece ii of the instrument (see Figs. 1 and 3).

To dispose the mute in muting position, the

body I 5 is slid forward on the supporting strings so that its head or tongue portion rides onto the top edge of the bridge [3 (see Figs. 2 and 4). As the mute approaches the bridge, the inclined bottom face 23 of the head or. tongue portion rides onto the bridge edge until the cushion member 25 engages the latter. Owing to the inclination of the bottom face 23 of the head or tongue, the engagement of said head or tongue with the bridge is firm, since the reactive tension of the supporting portions of the strings induces a slight downwardly thrusting pressure of the head or tongue toward the bridge. The tension of the strings in this connection however is not sumcient to over-stress the same so as to disturb or cause any fluctuation of the tuned pitch thereof.

In fact the divergent mouth portions of the string receiving grooves or channels are so carefully shaped as to readily compensate for the slight endwise tilt of the mute, When it is in muting engagement with the bridge, without inducing excess or pitch disturbing string stress, and yet retaining sufficient string tension for holding the head or tongue in firm engagement with the bridge. I

In Fig. 8 is shown a somewhat modified form of the mute device according to this invention, wherein the head or tongue portion is optionally provided with movable .means adapted, when erected, to add to the effective mass thereof and the consequent inertia effects in enhancement of its vibration dampening function when disposed'in muting contact with the bridge. Said means comprises an auxiliary weight member 21 pivotally connected with the enlarged upper portion 22 of the head or tongue so as to be capable of being swung back, when not in use, to overlie the main body l5 (as'shown by broken lines in said Fig. 8) or to be swung, when in use, to rip-- standing position (shown by full lines in said Fig. 8), in which latter position its center of gravity is aligned substantially with that of the head or tongue, and consequently increases the inertia effects of the latter and therefore the muting power of the device.

In Fig. 9 is shown another modified construction of the mute of this invention, wherein the bridge engaging head 2 I is modified to include a pivoted bridge contacting member 23 adapted to swing about a pivotal connection 29. The lower end of said member 28 projects below the underside of the head 2|, and its extremity is shaped to provide a transverse concavely curved seat 30 adapted to contact the top edge of the bridge [3, when the mute is slid forward to muting position. The u per free end portion of the member 28 projects above the top of the head 2!. When the mute is retracted to non-muting position, said member 28 occupies a normal initial back-swung position, whereby the rearward lip .or margin of the seat 3!} is disposed in a plane below that of the top edge of the bridge I3, as shown by broken lines in Fig, 9. When the mute is slid forward to muting position, said rearward lip or margin of the seat 383 is first brought into contact with the bridge 13, and as forward movement of the mute continues, the member 28 will, by such contact, be caused to swing forward, thus causing the seat 3b to turn onto and over the top edge of the bridge in firm contact therewith, and so as to embrace said edge in a substantially securely interlocked relation thereto, by which time the pivotal point 29 passes beyond the perpendicular axis of the bridge whereby to retain such interlocked relation of said member 28 with respect to the bridge. To return the mute to non-muting position, the upper free end portion of the member 23 is thrust rearwardly, thus swinging back said member and disengaging its seat from the bridge, while at the same time sliding back the mute to non-muting position. This modified construction of mute is adapted for use in connection with the larger sizes of violin type instruments, such e. g. as cellos and base-viols. The mute of this invention will be sized proportionately to the size of a stringed instrument with which it is to be used; e. g. when for use with cellos, it will be made in larger size than that used for violins, and when used for base-viols, it will be made in larger size than that used for cellos.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge by which its strings are supported comprising a main body having endwise open channels in opposite sides thereof to receive strings straddled thereby so as to slidably mount said body on said strings behind the bridge, said channels being of curvilinear conformation both in vertical and horizontal planes whereby to slightly tensionally stress said strings so as to hold said body against both crosswise and perpendicular movement relative thereto, and bridge engaging means connected with the forward end of said body in forwardly projecting and upwardly offset relation to the forward ends of said channels, said means being adapted to ride onto and firmly engage the top edge of the bridge when said body is slid toward the bridge into muting engagement therewith.

2. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge by which its strings are supported comprising a main body having endwise open channels in opposite sides thereof to receive strings straddled thereby so as to slidably mount said movement body on said strings behind the bridge, said channels being of curvilinear conformation both in vertical and horizontal planes whereby to slightly tensionally stress said strings so as to hold said body against both crosswise and perpendicular movement relative thereto,.bridge engaging means connected with the forward end of said body in forwardly projecting and upwardly offset relation to the forward ends of said channels, said means being adapted to ride onto and firmly engage the top edge or" the bridge when said body is slid toward the bridge into muting engagement therewith, and said means having a bridge contacting cushion means.

3. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge by which its strings are supported comprising a main body having endwise open channels in opposite sides thereof to receive strings straddled thereby so as to slidably mount said body on said strings behind the bridge, said channels being of curvilinear conformation both in vertical and horizontal planes whereby to slightly tensionally stress said strings so as to hold said body against both crosswise and perpendicular relative thereto, bridge engaging means connected. with the forward end of said body in forwardly projecting and upwardly offset relation to the forward ends of said channels, said means having an upwardly and forwardly inclined bottom face adapted to ride onto and firmly engage the top edge of the bridge when said body is slid toward the bridge into muting engagement therewith, and a bridge contacting cushion means at said bottom face of the bridge engaging means.

i. A mute for a stringed instrument as defined in claim 1 wherein the body is centrally cut away to reduce the weight thereof and the bridge engaging means is provided with means to increase its mass, whereby the point of maximum specific gravity of the mute is located at the bridge engaging end thereof.

5. A mute for a stringed instrument as defined in claim 3 wherein the body is centrally cut away to reduce the weight thereof and the bridge engaging means is provided with means to increase its mass, whereby the point of maximum specific gravity of the mute is located at the bridge engaging end thereof.

6. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge by which its strings are supported, said mute comprising a main body having endwise open channels in opposite sides thereof to receive strings straddled thereby so as to slidably mount said body on said strings behind the bridge, said channels being of curvilinear conformation both in vertical and horizontal planes whereby to slightly tensionally stress said strings so as to hold said body against both crosswise and perpendicular movement relative thereto, said channels having divergent mouth portions at their ends, a mutin head connected with the forward end of said body in forwardly and upwardly offset relation to the forward ends of said channels, and said head having an upwardly and forwardly inclined bottom face adapted to ride onto and firmly engage the top edge of the bridge when said body is slid toward the bridge into muting engagement therewith.

7. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge by which its strings are supported, said mute comprising a main body having endwise open channels in opposite sides thereof to receive strings straddled thereby so as to slidably mount said body on said strings behind the bridge, said channels being of curvilinear conformation both in vertical and horizontal planes whereby to slightly tensionally stress said strings so as to hold said body against both crosswise and perpendicular movement relative thereto, said channels having divergent mouth portions at their ends, a muting head connected with the forward end of said body in forwardly and upwardly offset relation to the forward ends of said channels, said head having an upwardly and forwardly inclined bottom face adapted to ride onto and firmly engage the top edge of the bridge when said body is slid toward the bridge into muting engagement therewith, and a bridge contacting cushion means imbedded in said bottom face of said head.

8. A mute for a stringed instrument as defined in claim 6 wherein the body is centrally cut away to reduce the weight thereof and the head is provided with means to increase its mass, Whereby the point of maximum specific gravity of the mute is located at the muting head end thereof.

- 9. A mute for a stringed instrument as defined in claim 7 wherein the body is centrally cut away to reduce the weight thereof and the head is provided with means to increase its mass, whereby the point of maximum specific gravity of the mute is located at the muting head end thereof.

10. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge by which its strings are supported, said mute comprising a main body having endwise open channels in opposite sides thereof to receive strings straddled thereby so as to slidably mount said body on said strings behind the bridge, said channels being of curvilinear conformation in vertical plane, and a muting head connected with the forward end of said body in forwardly and upwardly offset relation to the forward ends of said channels, said muting head being adapted to ride onto and firmly engage the top edge of the bridge when the body is slid toward the bridge into muting engagement therewith.

11. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge by which its strings are supported, said mute comprising a main body having endwise open channels in opposite sides thereof to receive strings straddled thereby so as to slidably mount said body on said strings behind the bridge, said channels being of curvilinear conformation in vertical plane, and a muting head connected with the forward end of said body in forwardly and upwardly offset relation to the forward ends of said channels, said muting head being adapted to ride onto and firmly engage the top edge of the bridge when the body is slid toward the bridge into muting engagement therewith, said body being centrally cut away to reduce the weight thereof and said muting head having means to increase its mass, whereby the point of maximum specific gravity of the mute is located at the muting head end thereof.

12. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge by which its strings are supported, said mute comprising a main body having endwise open channels in opposite sides thereof to receive strings straddled thereby so as to slidably mount said body on said strings behind the bridge, said channels being of curvilinear conformation in vertical plane, and a muting head connected with the forward end of said body in forwardly and upwardly offset relation to the forward ends of said channels, s'aid muting head being adapted to ride onto and firmly engage the top edge of the bridge when the body is slid toward the bridge into muting engagement therewith, and said head having movable means to interlock with said bridge edge when engaged in a muting relation thereto.

RUSSELL B. KINGMAN. 

